A fine over the brief exposure of superstar Janet Jackson’s breast during the 2004 Super Bowl broadcast has been appealed to the US Supreme Court.

The US Federal Communications Commission has asked the court to re-impose the fine on CBS television network in a long-running legal battle over indecency broadcast standards.

The commission levied the €419,155 fine against CBS in 2006 for breaking indecency rules during a halftime performance by Ms Jackson at the event, the championship game of the National Football League.

CBS appealed the fine and the case has wound its way through the courts since then.

In its ruling in November, the appeals court ruled in favour of CBS, saying the FCC had acted “arbitrarily” in penalising the TV network CBS and that the indecency standard should not be applied to fleeting images.

But the FCC says in its request to the Supreme Court that no such exemption has ever existed for nudity, although there may be an exemption for isolated uses of expletives.

It said other cases involving Fox and ABC television also support the FCC decision.

Ms Jackson, the youngest sister of the late Michael Jackson, was performing live at the Super Bowl when fellow pop star Justin Timberlake tore off her bustier, exposing her breast for a fraction of a second to some 90 million viewers.

CBS apologised for the incident but in 2004 it was ordered to pay the fine, the stiffest penalty the agency could levy against the network.